Emergence of new COVID variants detected in India
One case of the newly emerging COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 and four instances of the LF.7 type have been detected in India, according to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) data. As of May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies LF.7 and NB.1.8 subvariants as Variants Under Monitoring, not as Variants of Concern or Variants of Interest. But these are the variants that are reportedly driving the rise in COVID-19 cases in China and parts of Asia.
Cannes 2025: Jafar Panahi’s ‘It Was Just an Accident’ wins Palme d’Or, a staggering sixth straight triumph for Neon
Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi took home the Palme d’Or for his absurdist drama, It Was Just an Accident, marking both a personal and political victory for its maker, but also for U.S. distributor Neon, now six-for-six in Cannes’ top prize. The win signals a powerful comeback for Panahi, who was under a 20-year filmmaking ban until the Iranian government finally relented. It Was Just an Accident is his first film made with legal sanction in over a decade.
COVID-19 patient dies in Thane, another undergoing treatment in hospital
A COVID-19 patient died while eight new cases of the viral infection were reported in the city on Saturday (May 24, 2025), the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) said. There are a total of 18 active COVID-19 patients in the city, it said, adding that only one of them is undergoing treatment at hospital while others are in home isolation. The condition of all of them was stated to be stable.
Russia says it captures three more settlements in east Ukraine
Russian troops advancing slowly on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine have captured two settlements in Donetsk region as well as one in Ukraine’s northern region of Sumy, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday (May 24, 2025). Since their failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war, Russian forces have focused on capturing the Donbas in the east, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Afghans can apply for Indian visas again, including investors, artists, sportspersons
India has resumed granting several categories of visas to citizens of Afghanistan, including to business people and artists, according to a notification on a government website. This comes five years after India suspended all visa services to Afghans and shut down its embassies and consulates following a regime change in the neighbouring country.
IPL 2025 PBKS vs DC | Rizvi does it for Capitals; Kings suffer a setback
Punjab Kings suffered a setback in their quest for securing a place in Qualifier 1 after a six-wicket loss at the hands of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Saturday (May 24, 2025). Karun Nair’s anchoring innings of 44 and Sameer Rizvi’s 25-ball unbeaten 58 helped the side chase down the 207-run target with three balls to spare.
Djokovic clinches his 100th career singles title at Geneva Open
Novak Djokovic made more tennis history by winning a 100th career singles title on Saturday (May 24, 2025) and his first in a city that is special to his family. Djokovic finally reached his century after rallying to beat Hubert Hurkacz 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) in more than three hours in the Geneva Open final. He lost his two previous finals since his 99th title win nine months ago at the Paris Olympics at Roland-Garros.
Railway Ministry approves new train between Agartala and Guwahati, trial run of electric locomotives completes
The Union Railway Ministry has approved a new train to run between Agartala and Guwahati to ease the rush of passengers. Former Tripura Chief Minister and Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb announced on Saturday (May 24, 2025) that this decision was made following his demand to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Piyush Goyal meets EU counterpart for second time in a month on FTA talks
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has met European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic in Brussels, their second meeting within a month, to discuss the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), currently under negotiation between the two regions.
Bus incident: Manipur group announces civil disobedience
The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), on Saturday (May 24, 2025), launched a “civil disobedience campaign against President’s Rule administration” and the “public boycott” of Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla. The announcement by the Imphal Valley-based organisation followed the expiry of its 48-hour general strike from midnight of May 21. The strike was against the masking of the words ‘Manipur State Transport’ on a bus carrying journalists to cover the Shirui Lily Festival, allegedly by security personnel.
At NITI Aayog meet, CM seeks support in boosting infra, cleaning Yamuna
Presenting the road map for “developed Delhi” at NITI Aayog’s 10th Governing Council meeting and seeking the Centre’s cooperation, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said cleaning the Yamuna river, developing infrastructure, and providing tap water to all households are her government’s key priorities.
Supreme Court sets aside life imprisonment in murder case on grounds of insanity
The Supreme Court set aside the life imprisonment of a man in a case of murder on the ground that there is “reasonable doubt” that he committed the crime in a fit of insanity. The Court dismissed the Chhattisgarh Police’s argument that a medical examination on the man had found him normal.
After brief X outage, Musk says refocusing on businesses
Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) suffered a major outage with users across India and some other countries reporting difficulties in accessing the social media platform, according to Downdetector.com. Many users, attempting to use the microblogging platform, came across notification that read, “Cannot retrieve posts at this time. Please try again later.”
Published – May 25, 2025 07:41 am IST
